Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media contact: Nancy Miller, (507) 280-3590 Technical contact: Lee Ganske, (507) 281-7765 Rochester, Minn. - The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requests public comments on a draft report about turbidity pollution in the lower Cannon River. The report, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), is on public notice Nov. 6 through Dec. 6, 2006. Turbidity refers to the "cloudiness" of the water due to sediment and algae. Two reaches, or segments, of the Lower Cannon River are listed by the MPCA as "impaired" because they fail to meet the water-quality standard for aquatic life due to excessive turbidity. Uncontrolled soil erosion and runoff from farm fields and cities deliver large amounts of sediment to streams and rivers. Erosion of stream banks and streambeds, some of which is natural, contributes additional sediment. Algae, which can proliferate with elevated phosphorus levels in the water, also add to the problem. Every two years, states are required to submit a list of impaired waters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The listing of impaired waters and the TMDL report are part of a nationwide effort, required by the federal Clean Water Act, to identify and clean up polluted streams, rivers and lakes. States must determine the maximum daily amount, or load, of pollutants that a water body can receive and still meet water-quality standards, determine the sources of the pollutants, and allocate needed reductions among them. As of 2006, Minnesota has identified 284 rivers and streams with one or more reaches impaired by one or more pollutants. The parts of the Cannon that are currently listed for turbidity impairment include the section between the Pine Creek and Belle Creek tributaries, and a short stretch at the Cannon's confluence with the Vermillion and Mississippi Rivers near Red Wing. The draft report on the lower Cannon River turbidity TMDL is available for review at on the MPCA Web site at: hhref="/water/tmdl/index.html#drafttmdl and at the agency's Rochester office (address below). Comments on the report must be in writing and received by 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2006. Send comments and requests for additional information to Lee Ganske, MPCA, 18 Wood Lake Drive SE, Rochester, MN 55904, or by e-mail to lee.ganske@pca.state.mn.us.